by Besa Martini
Our habits did not come to be all at once; they were built day by day and year by year. Have you ever found yourself opening the refrigerator without thinking or even being hungry, yet you still picked up something to eat?
Seventy percent of our daily activity is done automatically without us putting much effort. Have you noticed what your habits are 95% of the time? What is it that you do daily to improve or sabotage your health? Is it eating out? Is it a lack of exercise or perhaps binge watching Netflix for five hours? Observe what it is that you do daily to help or hurt your health. Our problem is not what we do 5% of the time. Our problem is what we do 95% of the time.
Unlocking our best health will be a combination of many habits that we build gradually. These habits can be getting daily physical activity, eating foods that heal, transforming your kitchen, reading labels, being around health-conscious people, drinking more water, sleeping well, and planning your cooking. Still, we cannot do it all at once. We need to improve our habits on our level, precisely where we are.
While you are on this journey to achieve better health, decide to honor your word and the promise to yourself. Imagine if you honored your word the same way you would honor the word and commitment of the most important person in your life? Guess what…you are the MOST IMPORTANT person in your life!
It is hard to wake up one morning and lose 7 pounds that week, run a marathon, do the full split, and have six-pack abs, ohh yeah baby that is quite a productive week! Setting a goal of running 1 mile daily as a new runner versus 6 miles daily increases the chance that you will hold that goal longer. Goals need to be personal, and only YOU can determine what that means!
No matter what habit or addiction we decide to change, we will find ourselves missing it and even feel very uncomfortable and wanting our old patterns back. We are creatures of habits, which is why we gravitate toward the places and ways of old behaviors that make us comfortable. Expect that for a time, you will feel a fair amount of discomfort. When we establish healthier patterns, the yearning and desire for the old ones will disappear. Eventually, we will reach for the right things for us, but the only way to get to this new place is to endure a time of difficulty.
Every successful person has daily habits that they often use unconsciously. These new habits might be radical in the beginning but can become effortless for us too. Until then, we need to promise ourselves to implement what we planned the night before, even though when the moment comes to take action our head will be chasing us around with all kinds of ideas that sabotage us.
My best advice: Do one small thing at a time. Maybe exercise for 10 minutes, talk to a friend to build a support system, continue to make one healthy choice as a start, and you will feel inspired to go further. Shrink it down to a simple habit that you can do daily and keep track of it. It will become more comfortable if you do it every day.
If we lose our body and health, we lose everything. The truth is, we have been given the most magically perfect, unbelievably mysterious, and powerful body to use… so let’s grab this opportunity and enjoy this journey to build habits that empower us!
Our bodies are not our enemies, in fact, quite the opposite. Treat your body with care and give it the support it deserves and it will become your best friend!
Besa has been working in the medical field as a Sonographer in NYC for 15 years and she has seen firsthand the devastating health conditions. She is a passionate Health and Life Coach, and a licensed Food For Life Instructor by PCRM. She is the Founder of “Be So Alive,” where she helps clients enhance their health and guide them on the power of plant-based diet and lifestyle to reduce the risk of disease and improve overall health and lifestyle.